At UFC 203 in Cleveland on Saturday night, Mickey Gall made short work of Phil “CM Punk” Brooks, who now may exit the UFC just as controversial a figure as he entered it. In this week’s Trading Shots, MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes joins retired UFC and WEC fighter Danny Downes to discuss whether Punk deserves criticism or praise for his foray into the cage.

Fowlkes: Depending on your perspective, Danny, CM Punk’s MMA and UFC debut either did not go as planned or else went exactly as expected.

It went about as bad as it could possibly go, and the reactions I’ve seen online seem to fall into two camps: 1) Good for him for having the courage to fight at all, or 2) What a disgrace that we were even asked to sit through that and take it seriously, and all while the UFC continues to keep much more deserving fighters on the outside looking in.

So now I’ve got to ask. Where do you stand on the Punkening of the UFC that we witnessed on Saturday night? As a former fighter yourself, are you inclined toward appreciation or damnation?

Downes: I suppose I’m a bit conflicted. It was a completely lopsided fight and Punk looked exactly like how I thought he’d look: like an 0-0 fighter. At the same time, it feels bad to soccer kick a man when he’s down.

You pointed out the two main opinions on what we witnessed last night, and they both have their issues. As far as the “good for him!” camp is concerned, I wonder if they would be as generous to any other UFC fighter who performed that way.

Are they sympathetic to Punk because they thought that he was unfairly targeted? Maybe they’re just the type of people who believe participation trophies are a good thing.

I noticed a similar phenomenon with Sage Northcutt. He faced a lot of criticism (some deserved, some not) for his UFC contract and performances. Then, when he lost to Bryan Barberena and people started with the I-told-you-sos, some thought it was their duty to defend him. He’s just a boy! Leave Britney, I mean Sage, alone!

As for the second camp, they’ve gone to the other extreme. In their zeal to denounce the CM Punk Experience, they’ve made it sound like they were victims of a used car scam. Some have even gone as far to say that Roufusport (full disclosure: my former team) acted negligently.

Did Punk perform poorly? Yes, but there are a number of things that could explain that: 1) Punk did progress nicely in the training room and eventually became a capable fighter, but just choked when it came time to perform. 2) As soon as Punk was taken down, he panicked like Brock Lesnar taking a punch and shut down. 3) We all underestimated Gall’s ability.

Aren’t those scenarios much more likely than a fourth scenario that some are floating – that the UFC and CM Punk’s team knew he wasn’t ready, but threw him to the wolves anyway?

This is one of those situations where you’re going to be accused of being a CM Punk “mark” or a hater. We probably have a better chance of discussing the presidential election with less controversy. To say the truth lies somewhere in the middle is cliche and not wholly accurate, but there is a bit more nuance here than either side cares to admit.

What about you, Ben? Did you dry your tears with a CM Punk t-shirt, or did you laugh at him while gleefully yelling, “I told you so!”

Fowlkes: Like you, I’m conflicted. A part of me sees what the participation trophy crowd is saying. Fighting in a cage is a scary thing. Punk had to know there was great potential for pain and embarrassment, and lots of people waiting to revel in both. Still, he wanted to do it, so he did it. Good for him.

At the same time, let’s keep it in perspective. Punk did this for money, maybe also for attention, and sure, he did it for himself. I see people saying that, simply by stepping in the cage (and getting thoroughly handled), he did something that most people wouldn’t/couldn’t do.

Are we sure about that, though? I think if we really knew what he got paid for that, and if we also had the luxury of spending a year doing nothing but training, plenty of us would take the risk for that same paycheck.

But the logic behind this participation appreciation stance is what bugs me the most. If simply showing up and bleeding is an act that puts a fighter beyond reproach, then we better never say another disparaging word about any fighter’s performance.

That means no complaints about “boring” wins or lackluster losses or quick taps. Don’t ever question someone’s “killer instinct.” Don’t question their heart or their cardio. Don’t boo Fabricio Werdum – a man who, months after getting knocked out, still had the nerve to begin his fight with a flying kick – just because he won in a fashion that was less than thrilling in the end.

If we’re that impressed with Punk for doing MMA at all, we’ve got to shut up about every other fight who clears that very low bar, and we’ve got to do it right now, forever.

And if we’re not willing to do that – and come on, you know we are not – then what have you just admitted? What, Punk gets held to a different standard? Why, because he’s old? Because he’s really a pro wrestler and not an MMA fighter? Because he had the courage to accept money for doing a job poorly?

I’m not mad at the guy for taking his shot and cashing his check. It took guts, and I believe that his heart was in the right place. But where’s the similar appreciation for the many, many other fighters who do the same thing, but better, and for way less money?

Downes: True, part of the reason that Punk has received the amount of criticism he has is because he’s not exactly a sympathetic figure. It’s hard to buy into the everyman act. He may have been an underdog on the betting line, but this isn’t what I would call an underdog story.

If Rocky Balboa were a millionaire actor who decided to fight Apollo Creed on a whim, something tells me his story might not have resonated with us. Perhaps I’m too cynical, but even the post-fight speech didn’t really change my opinion. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something? Maybe sometimes we should have people tell us we can’t do something.

There’s a fine line between being supportive and being delusional. When I told my parents that I wanted to be a professional fighter after I graduated college, let’s just say they were less than enthused. They had their objections. Some were justifiable, some were not, but they challenged me. They didn’t just say, “Good for you! Go get ’em!”

They grudgingly tolerated it, but they did so because they knew that I was committed. I was training full time and (perhaps more importantly) I was working on the side, so I didn’t hit them up for money. If I had no previous experience and decided to just pick up MMA out of nowhere, something tells me they would have been even less supportive.

As a former fighter, there are times when I feel like fans and media are being “unfair.” Whether it’s interview cliches or technical flaws, there are certain attitudes/actions that people who have not competed may not understand. At the same time, there’s a certain arrogance, a hierarchy that even fighters cling to.

What I’m asking is, where do we place CM Punk? Is he no better than the 0-0 guy you see at the county civic center on a regional show? Should we give him a bit more credit than that? There’s no doubt that he accomplished a personal goal. Even though he’s disappointed in his performance, the fight camp journey is something to be proud of in its own right. But that doesn’t mean we have to give him any affirmation, does it?

Fowlkes: He got his shot and he got his paycheck. I don’t know what else he could possibly ask for, considering how little he’s actually earned in this sport.

Again, I don’t blame him. He made the most of an uncommon opportunity. He did the best he could, and in the process, he showed us the enormous gulf that exists between regular dudes with a little bit of training and professional MMA fighters who are really about that life.

And, in a way, maybe that was worth the purchase price all by itself. It was exciting, wasn’t it? At least, you know, right up until he got taken down and immediately swarmed?

He gave us a fun little experiment, one that both he and the UFC likely profited from. For his part, Punk paid in blood. If people want to fall all over themselves with admiration over that, that’s fine. I just hope they save some for all the fighters who do more for less – which is to say, almost all of them.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Danny Downes, a retired UFC and WEC fighter, is an MMAjunkie contributor who also writes for UFC.com and UFC 360. Follow them on twitter at @benfowlkesMMA and @dannyboydownes.